The Betrayed
by Andalite Girl
Summary: Jake learns a lesson.... The hard way.


The Betrayed 

By: Andalite Girl

Note: A little on the short side.

(This is dedicated to my friend Hinkell who is in rehab. You hold on girl, we are all rooting for you. )

He didn't look real, all covered with tubes and machines. Machines to keep him breathing, machines to keep his heart beating. He looked so pale, deathly pale. His skin was almost transparent.

"Marco." I whispered sitting next to him.

He didn't answer or even twitch in response.

"Marco I.... I'm..." My voice cracked and I had to stop. So I just stared at the form lying there that used to contain so much humor, kindness and goodwill... Turned into this....

It wasn't his fault.... We'd seen the signs. But there was the war, the battle. Everything was just too damned important. Cassie kept warning me... But I was too busy to listen. To act. Now....

The heart rate monitor rested above his head. Emitting annoyingly cheerful little chirps as if to reassure me that everything was going to be all right. That Marco would be ok. But I knew better.

Marco was never going to be ok. None of us were ever going to be ok again.

It started showing up in his eyes. They got just a little less cynical and a lot darker. Maybe it was the battles. Maybe it was the stress that pushed him to do it. But Marco, in a desperate attempt to find relief in his life, found comfort in an unthinkable direction.

As if sensing my depressing thoughts the cheerful little chips from the monitor changed into moody little beeps, accompanied by ghostly green spikes.

Beep-beep, Beep-beep, Beep-beep

I slowly reached out with trembling fingers and took Marco's skeleton-like hand. Maybe he was in there somewhere, the Marco I used to know so well. If he was then maybe he'd know that he wasn't alone. Not anymore.

We had seen the symptoms, but we-no- I refused to except, to believe. Marco began to lose weight, and didn't show up on time to the meetings. When he did show up his mind was only half there. The other half was off floating who-knows-where. He began to have mood swings and bouts of severe depression.

Beep-beep, Beep-beep, Beep-beep

It was Cassie who finally blurted what she and the others had long ago suspected and what I had failed to see. I didn't believe her of course, who would? But I had to go over to his house... just to make sure. There I found what I had most feared. 

Empty syringes, razor blades kissed with the white powder that was not powder, crack pipes and worst of all a host of track marks on Marco's arm. 

I.... I was furious. So furious that I pinned him down and slapped him around while screaming. Maybe I was trying to slap some sense into him... I don't know. But when I left him.... he was terrified, sobbing in a corner.

What happened next most people could only guess at. The doctors said it was an overdose. Petty words to over the truth up. 

What had happened was this: Marco had tried to forget what had happened... I, Jake, the leader of the animorphs, caused him to take too much... He was lying here because of me.

I broke down and started to sob freely on the side of his bed, still clutching his hand. "Marco I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it! I didn't...Please, please come back to us."

Beep-beep, Beep-beep, Beep-Jake

I lifted my head up, tears still where coming down my cheeks. Did someone just call my name?

Beep-beep, Beep-beep, Beep-beep.

Beep-Jake

I swallowed nervously, glanced up at the monitor and fought the urge to scream. Gone were the ghostly green spikes that meant a heart was beating. Now it was only a single word.

JAKE

"Oh sh-"

Beep-Jake, Beep-Trayed, Beep-Trayed, Beep-Trayed, Be-Trayed.

"No." I whispered. "No." I tried to back away and run out of the room but two things stopped me. One was the fact that the door had locked it's self...

The other thing was that Marco's formally limp hand clutched mine so hard that I had no chance of breaking free.

Be-Trayed, Be-Trayed, Be-Trayed, Be-Trayed, Be-Trayed, Be-Trayed

"NOOOOOOOO!" 

Suddenly the walls were gone, replaced by hundreds of Hork-Bajir, Taxxons and Humans... All with gash marks inflicted on their bodies. Inflicted by a tiger.

"Betrayed." They chanted, "Betrayed!"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" I cried.

Be-Trayed, Beep-Jake, Jake-Betrayed

It was suddenly gone. All of it. Marco's hand fell lifelessly from mine.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

A flat line. Marco was dead.

Nurses streamed in and tried to revive him, but it was no use.

The last thing I saw of my friend as they wheeled him out was the wide smile on his face.

The End

Questions? Comments? Death Threats? Well e-mail 'em to me!

Subvisser1@hotmail.com 


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